I hope this letter finds you well. I write to you now facing a brief cessation of my workday. I know you have always encouraged me to work hard and you have expressed hope that I would advance through the ranks and be assigned a position of great influence among the Council as you have, but I am at my wits end, and, perhaps if I am honest to myself, I must ask “what is the point?” I could toil for years and never would I see the safety of our homeland seen.

Better, then, to drink and nap…

I hope this does not change your mind about my character and you still look forward to our eventual reunion. Maybe it would be best to explain to you all I have seen as of late, and allow your mind to see the answers I have failed to grasp.

The party I have found myself among arrived in Makandah, the capital of South Osatia, a few weeks ago. The city itself is a marvel; sprawling for miles in every direction and teeming with life that hides behind the safety of their great walls. I do not write this lightly, but the people do seem strangely comforted by their walls as during the entire time I and the party spent in the city you could hardly find evidence of any turmoil or worry about the impending threat from the North. The Nobles held their parties, one of which we all attended, the merchants sold their wears, several of whom soon learned to not besmirch the name and merchandise of Firebrand or face the consequences, the common person went about their lives and the poor struggled – all the same you would see in any other city.

But this wasn’t like any other city. This is the capitol of a nation at siege. On our travels we had found evidence of the North’s warring; merchants arrived to travel the roads, mercenary companies in the North’s employ heading off to do the only things they know to poor villages, and other signs of trouble brewing. However in the city it was as if there was no concern. When we reached the city the nearest band of Northern brigands was only a week by road to the north, yet the city remain unconcerned.

At first I believed this to be a sign of the South’s strength; that they had no reason to fear because their vast and powerful armies were on the march and all would be settled soon. Alas, I have to come the truth of the matter and must sadly inform you that putting so much faith our diplomats to bring the South into a military alliance with Thay isn’t worth the trouble. This nation has vast reserves of resources and a diverse selection of races to aid them in a struggle, but lack the necessary will to pull the land together effectively. The roads are not patrolled and defended, there is no standing army or militia – only a small policing force to handle crime, each town we visited is effectively poor while the capitol overflows with wealth. The only point of light in the land of intense darkness is its library.

But do not take this as an endorsement. While a large selection of the books and collected works held here are viewable to the public, they have a vast hidden library full of collections deemed “dangerous” that are hidden away. Our party had to earn the right to see this collection by effectively saving the entire city. One of the cults in this town had broken the taboo and opened a rift to another plane, allowing a race of howlers into our world. While normally this would be handled easily enough, these cats had the additional problem of self-reproduction, allowing 1 to become 2 with a single bite to a living being.

I must admit, the cats were less of a threat to us than the Otyugh that lived in the sewers. Life-Leech breed. And I can’t stress this enough, the city put them in the sewer on purpose. They claimed it was too keep the city clean, which seemed to work, but they failed to realize that eventually the Otyugh infestation would grow out of control. We had to fight many of those things, which unfortunately killed me and a friend.

Yes, you read that correctly, I was killed. When Ottian fell, I tried to save him. But in the process I was felled. My comrades convinced the Baron to resurrect me, and I am now well, but there were some…complications from the experience. Chief among them being that Boccob failed to protect me despite the years of devotion I have placed in him. I suspect you and I shall have words on the matter when next we see each other, but for now know that I am well.

The agony of death however allowed us to see the forbidden materials. Before I relate what I found there, I will also make it clear now that the Baron we were in service to rewarded us all well. Most of us were awarded estates and businesses to pay for their care, of which I have declared my estate to be an official Thay Embassy. I have no desire to return to this city, impressive as it is, but in the chance that I or others from our lands do we will have a well-cared for place to stay. The person I have placed in charge of the place is trusted.

The others all got estates as well, with the exception of the she-Orc, Olga, who turned it down in exchange for a large ship. That is where I am writing to you from now and I hope it explains the bad handwriting.

Anyway, as for what I found in the library. It was the oddest thing. Among these books that spoke of spells to summon rocks from the sky and turn water into lava, I found books about this supposed artifact as well as the First Emperor. First, the Emperor had to have been at least

[the next paragraph is unintelligible and appears to have been damaged by water or tea]

Well, that explains all the facts I have learned in the city. Our Party has changed much since we came here, with the Halfling and the Automotron staying behind while we picked up a Sorcerer-Paladin and a strange elven wizard as companions for the next leg of the journey. We are now on Olga’s ship, the “Honey Badger” and heading towards where we believe the first piece of the artifact could be found. I truly hope this isn’t all for not, but regardless of the capture of the completed artifact I would strongly encourage the Council to see alliances elsewhere. South Osatia would be more of a liability than an ally. If I can find the artifact we may be able to stand alone, but until then we need allies who are strong on more than just paper.

Since leaving the city by sea, within a few days our ship has been attacked by pirates, seen several Southern forts attacked and sacked, and found a fleet badly mangled just outside their most valuable and important “Straits of Louis Uf’ooked.” We were forced to aid in their own rescue.

I will send this letter to you as soon as I can. Until we next meet, with all my thoughts and prayers for our family and country,

Lord Anabus Firebrand III

--- --- --- ---

Anabus stood up suddenly, his hand stanching the paper from his desk as the cup of steaming tea slowly spread its contents across the rough wooden desk. He glanced over at Kyur’gan; the beast was built like a mountain and despite all of Anabus’s attempts to make it less so he was still just as smart as one. Kyur’gan just stood there, a tray held between his ham-fists with a kettle and cups arrayed around, while a dumb smile slowly spread across his face and his eyes closed in amusment.

The Wizard from Thay wanted to roar, wanted to scream at the beast for his incompetence, but alas he couldn’t bring himself to do so. Instead all Anabus could do was think about the journey they had been on together. How so much had changed over the last few months. He thought back to the sewer, their most recent adventure, and recalled how he had gave Kyur’gan the simple order of killing anything that came out of that portal while he searched for a way to shut it down, and actually trusted the man to do it. He had never meet a Winterborn he could trust before…

Sighing in exasperation, Anabus found himself starting to laugh while the two of them cleaned up the mess and tried to salvage the paper and tea.

*Olga's summary/diary entries of the 'Red Aloe Point' series of misadventures are complete, and written cleverly into her diary...unfortunately, her handwriting is so horrific, it will take a Linguistics check of at least 35 to decipher it!*

((gotta get off my lazy butt and TYPE her stuff into the computer...I so need a magical notebook paper pad, that I just say the command word and it teleports into a word file for me...))

((found scribbled in the back of Kyur'gans Elf Boobie book, written in an incredibly shaky, sloppy style, combining words in Common, Orcish and even a few symbols that Gnoll's use to show ownership))

**if a magical form of translation were to be used, one would find that this is, in fact, a few pages from Olga's diary!**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -{some bizarred numbering system, which makes sense only to Orcs} 1?

Dear diary, today we'z came across a fleet of semi-organized ships, all sailing the various flags of South Osatia and her allies, dat were blockading our passage outta the waters of South Osatia to the Great Endrina Ocean. Luckily, the captain of our noble ship, which I haz renamed to the "Honey Badger" in honor of all the heroic badgers who have fallen in service to my cute little' adopted clan sister Hingi, is a smartz fella, and he recognizeded that these ships were friendliez. We shared da information that we had gained during our trip from Makandah city, along wit' the sightings of baddie flagged piratical shipz and razed cities. The blockading shipz were gratefulz for our informationz, and dey let us sail thru safely, cautioning us about not sailing to the southerly side of day river, and dey also gave us some flags to use to identify ourselves as friendly to South Osatian forces. (Course, Olga not gonna take down our proud flag of our mascot, Diggles! No way, de Honey Badger is a proud ship!)- - - - -{more bizarre numbers} 2?

Mental note, diary. Kyur'gan still not foundeded his sea legs yet. Will try to distract him with some fresh caught, Orc style sushi made from deze huge catfish we catching in de river!

{more odd numbers) 2.5?...okay, dat the most vomit Olga has ever seen come out of one humanoid. Kyur'gan not allowed to eat anymore of Olga's fine cooking, if he gonna just throw up all over her!- - - - - -{more insane numbers} 3?

Whew ! It wuz a buzy day! Olga feel like, totally heroical and stuff! We cameded across the aftermath of a ship to ship battle, and dere wuz a South Osatian flagged vessel slowly sinking beneath da waves: de crew were in danger of both drownering, and being eatenz by a HUGE herd?....pack?...swarm? Yeah, swarm word sound good, a swarm of sharkz! Olga's companions sprangeded to action, using a combination of magical spells and fine ranged combat skillz to save almost all of dem endangered sailorz! Dere surviving first mate wuz so gratefulz, he gave us his sunken ships flag as a momento!..oh yez, and gotta remember, dat new guy, Belros, he owe Olga a new longboat...or a footrub...nah, stick with he owe her a longboat, Olga still want to relish her first human given footrub, for when she finally trick...er...talk Anabus into givingz her one... - - - - -- {man, these numbers still make no sense!} 4?

Dear diary, todayz we shud arrive at de mysterious Aloe Point, da place dat a bunch of de clues dat Anabus and Ai'wendil decipherededed said we'd find something dat stoopid cult of da Black Dragon we fought againzt in Makandah wanted. Gotta figure, if dem stoopidz cultists wanted it, den we might be able to use it to help us in our efforts to murder off all dem slavers in Seryon!...er...I meanz....stop...dat mad king of North Osatia...yeah. ...Nextz stop, Red Aloe Point!

Dear diary, today we arriveded at Red Aloe Point, and journeyed inland, following the river dat cuts across the peninsula, towards where we think whatever it was dem stoopid cultists wanted, should be located. diz place is so pretty! Olga could almost imagine living around here, someday. {a few more odd numbers} 5.5?

Ooh diary! we rested for the night, after a VERY long day of overland searching. Initially, Olga wuz quite angry, because during the night, when she was busy offering Anabus a nice back massage, Kyur'gan interupted her attempts to put da moves on dat cute man, but when Olga found out why Kyur'gan woke everyone up, she wasn't mad no morez! ORCS, good, full blooded, strong...tattoo'd...handsome...ORCS! Two of dem, and they were willing to share information about the area with us. It's just like you always said mama, pure blooded orc men are the best, nicest folks there is! Olga may have tried to flirt wit' dem, but she not want to make Anabus jelous, because you never know when he might fling a fireball in his jelousness! ... well...maybe he wouldn't have been jelous...Olga still have hard time reading dat man....side note, diary. Kyur'gan did gud job on watch tonights. Now, Olga not interested in his big, silly, stoopid, muscular...okay, Olga a LITTLE interested, but Olga not one of dem human, or elfie girl floozies! She Anabus's lady...even if he not know itz!...of course, if something horrible happen to Anabus again, and he not come back from da deadz like last time, then maybe Olga give Kyur'gan a chance...but not tillz Anabus deaded again!- - - - - - - - - - - -{Orcish numbering system continues, but much more sloppily written, shakily?} 6?

Dragon, mama. A real dragon. In da flesh. Or, in the scales? It was so BIG! And...scary. Olga not been scared like dat in foreverz, not since she was a little girl, and her former owner decided she was old enough to do more than just hunt, and clean...Olga was shaking in her boots! The giant flying monster showed up, just after we encountered a herd of Bison, being herded by some Worg riding goblins. We used out master of magical powerz and brilliant fighting abilities to hold our own against the superior numbers of gobbers and dere worgs, and then the dragon appeared out of the sky, like a living embodiment of a nightmare come to life! Olga was amazed that the beast didn't destroy us all right then and there, but it seemed it was more interested in some of the bison we had slain, than in us! After it feasted on a few of the bison, the dragon departed, and we slipped away to make camp in the swampy, wooded area a bit further inland. Olga feeling so shaken, she doesn't even want to try to take advantage of Anabus while he slept! She just...cuddled up next to her wolf sister, Lyi'anna, for comfort.- - - - - -{man, this numbering system never gets better!} 7?

Well diary, I'm writing this journal entry once again, from inside of one of Anabus' magical igloo's...that is sitting in leech infested water, underneath the ruins of a keep we found deep in the jungles of Red Aloe Point. Yes, I wrote LEECH INFESTED WATERS. At first, I thought the tribe of trolls that we discovered in the ruins were the worst thing possible, especially with a few of them showing strange abnormalities, like...two or more heads! The rotten stench of that troll flesh, as it was torn asunder by our parties combat prowess, or the might of our magic, was almost enough to make me gag. But then...then we began exploring the ruins of this keep, looking for any clues that might indicate this was the location those cultists had been writing about. But then, we discovered that the waters in the caves below this keep, were filled with leeches. Leeches the size of your fist! Olga must admit, she was a bit panicked when her companions discovered the leeches in the water...and she may have...overreacted with the whole 'Levitating herself out of the water' and then refusing to come back down from the ceiling, but....LEECHES! It was all I could do to not flee completely...just the thought of again having my body covered by those parasitic blood sucking horrors, like when I was first fleeing from the masters friends after my escape from the 'ranch' and had to hide out in the stagnant waters near to bogs...I...I just can't take that kind of experience again! It was almost a relief, when we discovered the lair of a very large...well...abomination?...that appeared to be a mutation of some sort of draconic beast...but with as many heads, as an octopus has tentacles! Luckily, my companions were able to quickly react and find the beasts weaknesses, and even though it displayed some very strange abilities...we quickly were able to slay it. Afterwards, Anabus, Ai'wendil and Belros were able to explain to me that the creature was a Hydra. And it seemed that the trolls we had slain earlier, had actually been eating the flesh of either the Hydra we slew, or perhaps others of its brood? Either way, after disposing of the monstrosity, and keeping a wary eye for more swarms of those....horrible...leeches...we gathered a respectable amount of treasure scattered around in the caves...as well as discovering the remains of another dragon! Its bones were long stripped of flesh, and the amount of decomposition of the bones indicated it had been dead for years, but still I was filled with dread, just knowing that these caves had once served as a home to such a powerful creature. - - well, must rest now. The days efforts were exhausting, and I once again find myself having difficulty sleeping...just knowing that outside of this magical igloo, even more of those horrid leeches are just WAITING to latch onto our skin and drain our blood. Ick. Perhaps if I cuddle with someone tonight, I'll distract my mind from thinking about it too much? Of course, you know I want to pick Anabus...but he's cranky from wandering around in the mucky water all afternoon...sigh...I guess...I'll just share a bedroll with Sonlar, the holy warrior do gooder. He doesn't hog the blankets. - - - - - - - - - - -

Yes diary, you read that correctly. We slew a dragon. A Great Wyrm. A beast of legend and dread.

I'm still not sure if we were very lucky, or if the legends greatly exaggerate the powers of a dragon, or if it was a mixture of both. But somehow, we turned almost a ton of angry flying, acid breathing, darkness summoning dragon, into a pile of meat to be butchered.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself, by just writing that down. I'm leaving out the fact that, the evening before batting the great wyrm, as we were settling in to attempt to rest in one of Anabus' magically summoned cabins, Belros and I had snuck upstairs to gather some of the treasure we'd discovered in the ruins previously...and we spotted the dragon lurking about. We had returned to our allies, and advised them, and then we all fell into a nervous rest, attempting to regather our magical and physical energies for the likely battle to come. When the next day arrived, we split ourselves into what we believed was a clever tactical force, with a few of us coming at where we believed the dragon would be waiting from several directions at once.

...the dragon was waiting for us, perched atop one of the ruined towers, making our flanking attempts a wasted effort.

Luckily, this dragon, much like how they speak of them in the legends of old, seemed to enjoy speaking. Was it to attempt to cow us with its strength? Was it because it arrogantly didn't fear anything as small as we were? Actually, afterwards, when Anabus explained to us what the dragon had actually said (it spoke in its own Draconic tongue, a language I have no ear for), it turned out that, seeing as we had defeated both the trolls and the hydra that resided in the ruins, the dragon actually was wary of how powerful we actually were. And it turns out that this dragon was just as greedy as a Makandah merchant trying to pry a copper piece out of a corpse's grasp. And perhaps, against a weaker willed, or less witty opponent, it would have easily cowed us into doing its will. But against Anabus...mmm...Anabus...he of clever tongue and handsome visage...the drake had no chance. So soon, after finding it was being beaten in the battle of words, it chose to engage us in battle, vomiting a wave of acid across many of the party!

This was when the cunning of my companions paid off. Working from the knowledge gained by years of reading the written word, my allies had previously estimated that a dragon with black scales would likely have a breath weapon of acid, Ai'wendil had cast protective magic on us all, that would prevent most of the might of the wyrm's breath from harming us. Seeing that its primary attack had caused almost no damage to my friends...only managing to destroy some of its own treasure...the drake, enraged that its attack was so easily shrugged off, moved from its perch atop the tower towards a different part of the ruins...and was struck by a cleverly fired Ray of Dizziness cast by Belros! Finding itself severely slowed by this initial magical attack, it was soon fleeing from our might, as it first managed to narrowly avoid damage from Lighting called down by Ai'wendil, then dodging the embarrassing grappling by my specialized Penetrating Hentai Tentacles...but as it somewhat clumsily flew away much slower than it thought it would, it was quickly struck by first Anabus' with a Fireball, than by Belros with a Lightning bolt, then by my own tweaked Iceblast! Just as it started to seem we'd take this mighty beast down...it suddenly summoned up a HUGE area of utter darkness!

...several moments then passed, as our party attempted to flush the beast out of the artificial darkness with several spells, and then even a few ruthless mocking insults, all of which failed to entice the wyrm to return to the fray...although it did summon forth another area of magical darkness to continue to hide from our asault. It was then that Kyur'gan, showing some true ruthless cunning, decided to dash down into the ruins and drag the draconic skeletal remains, which we had determined to be the living drakes mother, out into the daylight, to attempt to draw the beast back into battle by threatening to defile his mother's bones! I was...quite impressed by this clever plan thought up by the usually 'dim witted' Kyur'gan...perhaps his simple mindedness is a rather sly disguise...and I rushed down into the caverns below the ruins to assist him in carrying the skeleton outside.

...of course, as life often does, when you look away for a moment, you miss the most exciting things...for when Kyur'gan and I were down below, we missed the dragon returning, our allies battling it with both spell and in Lyi'anna's case, claws and fang, and they'd manage to slay the beast! Kyur'gan and I both shared a rather embarrassed grin, then rushed to make sure our allies weren't too badly hurt, and to praise their prowess! If my allies are mighty enough to slay a dragon, who knows what we can accomplish!- - - - - - - - - - -{more entries, still using the odd numbering style} 8.1?

An update on our dragon slaying exploits: it takes a LOT of work to butcher a dragons corpse! Hacking thru the scales, making sure to not rupture the acid glands...carefully preserving the tendons for later useage...WHEW! Olga hasn't worked up this much of an honest sweat, since that time she entered that demi-humans only jello wrestling competition back when she was still just traveling with Marcus! While I butchered up the drakes carcass over the course of several days, my companions searched the surrounding area for the slain beasts laire, and after locating it, carefully searched it and gathered up its hoarde, to add to the treasures we'd found in the ruins and caverns. To say we were ankle deep in riches, is an understatement! Surely with this much more wealth in our hands, we should be able to purchase information along our journey to make our quest much more likely to succeed!

...and diary, I know I keep telling myself that I'm here because I am honor bound to finish the task my dear half-brother Mittenz started, but I continue to find myself caring more and more about these companions of mine. I would almost say I consider them my own 'walking tribe'...well, at least Lyi'anna, Anabus, Sonlar and Kyur'gan...I'm still not sure about this Belros fellow, who seems too busy trying to look pretty...and that Ai'wendil...you know what they say about druids...never trust someone who'd rather hug a tree, than a willing orc lady...

Soon, we shall depart these ruins, and return to the 'Honey Badger.' I hold out strong hopes that while we explored and battled ashore, our crew came to no harm. It's a strange situation, to feel...responsible...for the safety of an entire ship and its crew. Damn that nobleman's gift! Certainly, it has eased the difficulties of our party's travels, but Olga never wanted these kinds of responsibilities!- - - - - - - - - - - (this ends the LONG WINDED diary entries of Olga's, summing up the Red Aloe Point sessions! Next up, the summaries of our latest encounters against the Wvyern's and the submarine style reaver pirate guys!)

By Kord’s sword, what an eventful trip so far! Each day brings with it more adventure, more challenges to our might and to our morals.

After our glorious battle and victory against a magnificent specimen of draco ater, we loaded our hard-won rewards onto the ship and sailed north and east, around the tip of the peninsula. Soon, once again our adventuring band was called on to prove its mettle against a group of ship-borne cultists and wyvern-riders! We won the clash handily, notwithstanding some interference by the Seryonite (Seryoni? Seryonan? I can never remember ...) navy. Unfortunately, our ship was badly damaged during the battle. After some discussion, we decided to make port somewhat further south than originally planned, so as to avoid the worst of the slaver lot that run rampant across the lands of Seryon.

After landing in some backwater town of ill repute whose name escapes me, the repair of Olga’s ship (named the Honey Badger, for some reason as yet to be explained) was negotiated with the local half-orc harbormaster and half-ogre shipwright. Anubus and Ai’wendil wished for everyone to be better versed in the bizarre customs of this land, so they proceeded to the library for some research on the matter. Returning several hours later, they discussed their findings with us, arming us with a better understanding of how things are done here.

The repairs to the ship are scheduled to take nearly three weeks, so after taking care of some financial matters with the advice of the harbormaster, we arranged for rooms at the “nicer” inn in town for the duration. Once settled in, we then headed to the market to see if we could find anything interesting or useful. The market was rather uneventful, although I did manage to purchase one or two useful items. I am glad that I did not spend all my funds, however, as I would have need of them later in the evening ...

After such a challenging journey, our group (sans Anubus, who preferred to remain in the relative luxury of the inn) had built up a powerful thirst, and was only too happy to make their way down to the dockside and one of the drinking establishments there. As we rounded the corner to the Blue Oyster, however, we encountered a circle of bar patrons ringing and wagering on two drunken, knife-wielding men. The fight ended almost as soon as we arrived, with one man left bleeding in the street. Sonlar, bless his heart, lay hands upon the bleeding man. Instead of thanking Sonlar, the man got to his feet and started stammering some mess about a “life debt”. It seems that Sonlar, in his innocent goodness, may have acquired a follower … whether he wants one or not!

Once in the Blue Oyster, we commenced drinking in earnest. Olga, to my pleasant surprise, declared that it was time for a drinking competition! I can’t say that I’d ever heard of the game “Drink Smash” before, but I will say that it was enjoyed by all - with the exception of the barmaid who was serving us. Lily (the barmaid) obviously did NOT want to be where she was. She was chained and bore the marks of beatings old and new. My eye stole to her time and time again as we drained tankard after tankard of the local swill.

By the end of the night, I knew that I couldn’t leave her in the situation that she was in. So, after the game wound down to a close and our group was headed back to our inn, I held back for a moment and asked the barkeep how deeply in debt Lily was. Eight hundred pieces of gold! How many times must have she tried to escape, only to have her freedom denied time and time again? A true free spirit, this Lily.

I arranged to have her debt paid, and lodging secured for her at our inn for a week’s time. I may not yet command enough of Kord's might to free all these people, but I must do what I can! Every strike against the chains of slavery, no matter how small, weakens them.

Anabus, the Red Wizard of Thay and Ambassador for the Mages Council, felt a knot of worry tighten in the pit of his stomach.

“Sonlar,” Anabus said as his eyes cast over the room they found themselves in, “did you know someone wrote a biography about my Uncle?”

The Paladin perked up from his at-ease position beside the door. “No, I didn’t.”

They had arrived Seyron only a few days ago, forced to port at this small no-name town because of the actions of pirates, and had been pressed into contractor work by the local courts out of a horrible combination of boredom and free time. The repairs to the ship would take weeks, and the shipwright was low on funds because a client hadn’t paid up. So Anabus and his merry band had been volunteered somehow to go and collect the debtor – Sultan Swahili.

He still wasn’t entirely sure how they had managed to be roped into this situation. He would have preferred to have relaxed in town and divided his attention between studying the arts and having his body tended to at the local bathhouse – while lacking in amenities it made up for it in quality service. Nevertheless, they were now here and they had a job to do.

When they had set out from the town they had three possible locations to find the debtor. It had only been by sheer luck Anabus had managed to convince the party that the best place to start was his place of work. After all, when you have debts you want to make sure your source of income is producing. They led them to a copper mine a half-day’s ride from the town.

The mine was fairly typical in that it was placed at the base of a large outcropping of rock and stone. What was unusual was the fortress that had been erected around it to keep others at bay, or to keep the workers inside. It wasn’t a massive fortification by any means, a hundred or so feet long on three sides, solidly made with stone from the mine, and a solid wall of rock on the fourth. But the corners held guard towers, with a strange apparatus attached to one of them that pointed out at their oncoming party. Patrol of men and beast walked the outside dutifully, and stopped the party a hundred feet from the wall.

Several in the group had been preparing for a fight, but Anabus had other thoughts.

Finding out the Sultan was actually here had been easy, as the local guards were hired for their brawn and not their brains. Getting in to see the Sultan, on the other hand, was not so simple. When the patrol informed the Sultan that “Anabus Firebrand of Firebrand Incorporated” wished to have a meeting with him, he had come to the guard tower and asked many questions. Anabus wasn’t sure how convincing he really was, lying about his role in the company and his intentions here of wanting to buy the mine, but it at least got him in the door. With one condition – he could only bring one of his friends with him.

Sonlar was the obvious choice in retrospect. Strong, fast, and oddly loyal to the team were all admiral qualities, but what really sold bringing the Paladin with him was the fact Anabus knew his own limitations and physical endurance was not one of them. Best to bring Sonlar who could heal him in case things went badly.

They were escorted through the front gates of the fortification’s walls, and both Sonlar and he were more than a little surprised to see massive Orges working in the central yard. No collars, no restraints, no oversight, how in the hells had he managed that? There were also more guards, humans wearing armor of skins rather steel so as to avoid the heat of the sun. Then there was the numerous workers, at least fifty, moving about the makeshift courtyard and going about their daily duty. While they looked to be well taken care of, clean and fed, their faces spoke of abject misery and heavy toil.

Along the inside of the forts three walls was an equal number of buildings. One on the fair right looked like a barracks, with men moving in and out quickly. The building closest to them and nearest the gates had no discernable purpose from the outside, but if Anabus had to guess it was some kind of clerical office. The Sultan meanwhile led the two of them to the building on the left, which had to be the Sultan’s office.

After the Sultan welcomed them inside he stepped back outside, stating he needed to get his clerks for our meeting if we were to talk seriously buying the mine from him. Anabus had no intention of purchasing this mine, but as he thought on it he was wondering if maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Firebrand wasn’t well known here in Seryon, meaning it was an untapped market. Plus it would give his people plenty of spies to be their eyes and ears on this continent they knew so little about. It was often how things worked anyway, Firebrand would set up in a location, and within a year most of the locals employed would feed information back to Thay without even knowing it.

“Not many do.” Anabus pressed his fingers together before his mouth and scanned the room. “A Burgrave merchant had them all bought up and burned – well, most of them anyway. The author, Lord Trakas, fell out of favor with the man and was banished from Eltabbar – the capitol.

“The man not like the portrayal?”

“Oh, not at all.” Anabus grinned. “He was very favorable toward the man. He also did a fantastic job of praising the Council’s decision to employ non-arcane peoples in various lower levels of Government.”

Sonlar seemed to bristle. “And that was a bad thing?”

Anabus nodded. “I’m just vain enough to believe we who wield arcane might are the true rulers of this world, but I also recognize that other people have their place and purpose. This Burgrave doesn’t share that feeling, and hired mercenaries to chase the man from public life.”

“What did he say about you?”

“I was only a small note. At the time I was rather enjoying setting up a small store. I was mentioned only as a footnote in the Firebrand line, a Prince with no land to rule who sought to keep away from the life of nobility and endless politics.” Anabus waved his hand dismissively. “Rubbish most of it, but I do have a confession.”

“I’m not that kind of Paladin.”

Anabus smiled. “There are times when I don’t feel a sense of mercy or justice, or anything but pure rage. Times when I feel like the solution to any problem is to simply burn it from the face of the earth. I was raised to nobility, taught how to do the right thing and how to rule, and how to succeed my brother should anything happen to him. All my life I’ve been content with this path laid out for me, found comfort in it. I even took to the life of a merchant so I could hone my skills with the tongue, to learn the art of diplomacy as studiedly as my spells, but I can’t help but feel that there is something missing. And that makes me very angry.”

“Sonlar, that is the most dangerous feeling a mage can have.” He stared at his friend, eyes boring into his soul. “Which is why, if I look like I’m about to lose my control, I want you to tell me. No fidgeting, no polite coughs, just tell me.”

Anabas watched the door to the office open and two guards enter the room. The two of them were breathing hard, as if they’d run up ever flight of stair in the Council’s tower, but where trying hard to hide it. Each of the was carrying a tray filled with cups and small finger-sized bits of food.

The first said, “Sir, the Sultan would like to present you with some refreshments while you wait.”

That in and of itself wouldn’t be anything to think twice about, but something seemed off to Anabus. He could hear men and beasts moving outside the office, and something that sounded like a bellowing troll howling at its shadow. Plus, these guards seemed on edge, their eyes glancing at the two men standing before them and measuring them up. He had seen Kyur’gan and Olga do the same to their opponents plenty of times to know something was wrong.

He could feel himself tensing on reflex, everything he had learned on this Gods forsaken journey screaming at him to prepare.

Sonlar was reaching out to take a cup off the tray when it happened. A sword went up and passed within a hair of Anabus’s ear. The room burst into motion. Trays were discarded, and from beneath them weapons were drawn – swords and daggers. What had a moment before been a pair of clueless guards became a pair of assassins.

They fell on the, with the same shout: “For the Sultan!”

Sonlar flung himself between the Anabus and the killers. He drew his sword, prepared to cut them both down in as many blinks of the eye. Anabus instead yanked out his wand from inside the vast sleeves of his robe and rested a hand on the Paladin’s shoulder before bellowing, “Zhaan!”

One moment the two of them stood in the office, the next they were standing in the open air. Their felt a falling sensation for a brief moment before their feet contacted the roof. As hoped, they traveled straight up into the air just high enough to find themselves on the gabled roof of the office.

Now out of immediate danger, the two had a second to glance around and take stock. From atop the roof they could see the entire mine was in a frenzy, guards grabbing weapons and armor and rushing out of the mine and into the courtyard. The orges where looking angry, and moving to protect the gates.

And Anabus could see the guards in the towers staring back at him.

“Ixen!” the mage commanded as he leveled his wand at the tower on reflex. A thin beam of light erupted from just in front of the burnt and twisted redwood baton, traveling faster than the eye could track, and burst forth in a brilliant explosion of flame, pressure and heat as it struck one of the men in the fortification.

All this Anabus had expected. What he didn’t expect was the second explosion as whatever was in the tower burst into a fountain of green liquid. The fluid covered everything the flames had touched, and what the flames didn’t destroy the vicious liquid did as it rained upon the men and began to burn through them amid terrifying screams for mercy.

Out in the courtyard there had been a hose leading up to the tower, and now that whatever it was connected to was broken it had fallen to the ground and began spilling its contents on the soil, boiling and bubbling whatever it touched. The way it landed effectively blocked the way out of the courtyard for the guards.

The sudden explosion had drawn unwanted attention. As the Orges turned towards the two of them, Anabus looked at Sonlar and quipped from behind a stern face, “So much for diplomacy.”

Inwardly he smiled with glee. Nothing better for fools than the flame.

With the Ogres turning their attention on the two of them, Anabus decided it might be best to divide the enemies attention. With a word he teleported to the roof of another building, while using his magic to create a wall of violet flames to bottle up the enemy in the mine.

As the two of them made their way outside in a fighting retreat, on the opposite side of the walls and out of sight, the guards were attacking the rest of the party en masse, trying to gain the advantage through numbers. Kyur’gan cut down man and beast alike, Al’wendil stepped up beside him to hold back the rest while Olga and Belros cast spells and fired arrows that cut down those that remained. The ground was soon covered in thick blood and voided bowels.

A few fireballs handled most of the guards, but for Anabus who was dealing with a very angry Orge whom carried a sword the size of a column and was nearly disemboweled, he had enough. With a final use of his teleport spell he vanished and reappeared outside the fortresses walls. However he left a gift behind in the form of an ever expanding cloud of poisonous gas.

The spell was effective, but almost too much so as it soon filled the courtyard and sent men to the ground as their strength and courage left them. Between the various bits of fire and acid damage to the walls, the cloud soon escaped and expanded outwards. It wouldn’t last forever, and would eventually retreat, but not before effecting several parties members – including the one who cast it.

A grey-green apparition emerged from the fog, looking for the world like an Ogre-ghost, who plagued the party with spells that effected the mind or left them bumbling around in the dark helplessly. Anabus recognized the type of caster, and the spells he used, but while disturbing and annoying, the mage was relatively harmless; as long as he remained hidden the mage couldn’t directly attack one of the party, and if he did the entire party would know where he was and their wrath would descend on him in brilliant flash of pain. He was a trained killer, and would not waver in his duty, but he also wasn’t an idiot and valued his own life.

It still infuriated Anabus that he couldn’t get his hands around the mage’s neck. Between him and the fog, it was some time before the rest of the party could get back inside the fortress and find the Sultan.

By the time most of the party was reunited; Kyur’gan had ran through Anabus’s wall of fire and charged deep into the mine, sure that his friend was killed and seeking vengeance. When others learned the truth, they did not rush to tell him the truth as it was obvious he was going to do most of their work for them.

They made their way into the mine, the guards and workers rushing back at them like a flood. With so many places to look, and so many treats mixed upon those who sought only to get away, it was looking like a slow journey. That is, until Anabus felt someone in a crowd attempt to stab him. Anabus had nearly died three times in the last twenty minutes, and was determined to avoid a forth. He spun away from the attack, and with an angry bellow overtaking his sense of right and wrong, used his wand to burn a whole in the masses of people. Ash fell to the ground like so much snow.

Eventually it would be the combined efforts of Olga, Belros and Sonlar who would find and capture the Sultan, alive.

(Summary of 25th of March and 1st of April 2017 sessions)NOTE: to properly appreciate this information, you MUST read these words in 'Old time radio announcer voice' ... think BURMASHAVE advertisements, circa the 1940's!- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ...When we last saw our heroes, they were wrapping up their capturing of the debt dodging Sultan Swahili: the party loaded the tied and gagged Sultan, along with some choice loot taken from a few of the slain foes, into the wagon, and the NPC known as Chico Dirknut guided the team of horses back towards the town of Eru'rok and their bounty of 3000 GP...

...as the heroes and heroines enjoyed a relatively hazard free ride back to town, it came to light that the Sultan was a bit nervous around the two Paladins, Seryon and Belros. When asked why, the Sultan, after being un-gagged, politely told the party the legendary backstory of the city of Eru'rok, AND the 'terrible curse' that lay upon the lands, due to the cities founding fathers having battled and slain the previous Theocratical religious cultists who had held the population in their zealot like grasp! It was quite the story, what with the Sultan being an amazing storyteller, filled with thrills and chills, and beautiful princesses and terrifying bad guys...but unfortunately, the budget of 'Saturday Split Infinity RPG Weekly' isn't big enough to cover the special effects budget required to do that kind of storytelling justice...you'll just have to IMAGINE how amazing that story telling was! *cue sad 'aww' from studio audience* ...suffice to say, and summary wise, it left the lands a bit cursed when it comes to magic cast from divine sources, and the closer you get to the spot in Eru'rok city where the head of the cult was slain, the more likely any healing magic will go awry! At first the party scoffed at the Sultan's story, because after all, he was the 'bad guy'...but when Ai'wendil the Druid used some healing magic to help the still wounded members of the party, there were VISIBLE side effects that lent credence to the Sultan's claims! With this new bit of dangerous information forefront in their minds, the party arrived back in the city!...

{CUT TO COMMERCIAL BREAK} {ENGAGE AUDIO CLIP ADVERTISING 'FIREBRAND' brand bulk weapons and armour; when you need to outfit an entire company of mercenaries, accept no substitute!}{return to audio broadcaster summary}

...as our heroic groups wagon rolled to a stop outside of the city courthouse, there were many curious eyes that looked on as they escorted the Sultan Swahili in to 'face justice'...but the parties preconceptions were shattered, as within minutes of arriving, the Sultan requested a business associate of his to be summoned to the courthouse to pay off his debt! It seemed unfair, but was within the legal loopholes of the local government: The Sultan was able to pay off the debt he owed to the shipwright, and then with a polite bow and a cheeky wave, he slipped away into the evening air, leaving the party perplexed...but at least they were 3000 gold pieces richer! Deciding it was only proper to treat themselves a bit, the group scattered across the city, to enjoy themselves...some drank themselves silly at the local dive bars, some lounged around at the dayspa, and others, feeling drained from near death experiences at the mines, merely went to their rooms and collapsed into rest...or as near to rest as they could get in one party member's case, as Belros was met in his room by 'Lilly' the woman he'd freed from her debt who continued to linger around him like an albatross around a sailors neck...

...in the morning, the party decided to rest and resupply...and in the case of Anabus, to try to decipher why exactly Lilly continued to linger around Belros, when she vocally continued to continually express her dislike of him with her every spoken word! After some smooth talking by Anabus to an overworked clerk at the courthouse, Anabus put two and two together, and like any well trained merchant, managed to come up with five: as Belros had dramatically 'torn up' Lilly's debt contract in front of legal representative of the government of Eru'rok...he had actually conducted the ritual of 'family to family binding' ... also known as MARRIAGE!

...after confirming with the clerks at the courthouse, Anabus devised a clever plan, that would work in accordance with the local customs: it was possible to get 'divorced'...but the computations for alimony in Eru'rok were staggering: the party desiring the divorce would have to pay the other half of the former marriage an insanely high sum of cash, based off of their estimated LIFETIME earnings...in a LUMP SUM at the time of the divorce...which explains why there aren't many divorces in Eru'rok...but Anabus, being a clever businessman, worked out a deal with Lilly to accept a certain amount of gold, in return for her being the one to request a divorce...a bit of excellent 'horse trading' later, Lilly agreed to request the divorce, as long as in addition to a bit of cash, she would also be guaranteed a ride on the good ship 'Honey Badger' after its repairs were completed, as she had no desire to remain in Eru'rok. The particulars were agreed upon, and Belros was once again a single man...

{CUE 2nd commercial break}{Engage Audio clip advertising the Whee, Cheatum and Howe law firm. When you need the very best, but can't afford the best, then come on down the street to the 2nd best lawyers your money can buy!}{return to audio commentary}

...well folks, other than taking care of our good Paladin friend Belros's little 'marriage' problem, the party also had quite a bit of interaction with none other than FINKDONG BIZZLEBOMB, a perpetually distracted, often confused, but dangerously talented gnomish inventor and the local 'go to' person if seeking oddities or assistance in strange endeavours! Old Finkdong had quite a bit of information that he was more than willing to chat to the party members...at length...about, and also had quite a few odds and ends that he was willing to part with...for the right price. Why, Finkdong even had it within his power to send messages for party members to far off countries, utilizing the wonders of Gnomish clockwork messengers! Almost guranteed to probably get your messages to where you need them to go, most of the time! Both Anabus and Ai'wendil utilized the gnomes services, and our two Paladins also did a bit of shopping at his oddities store, with Sonlar purchasing an odd assortment of potions that may or may produce the results he is hoping for, along with serviceable but questionable in cleanliness healing kits, and Belros deciding to spend quite the pretty penny on a suit of half plate armour that definitely was crafted out of a exotic metal known as Flametouched Iron, but its magical powers remained unknown...so he generously 'loaned' it to his friend Sonlar to wear...all party members were tempted to purchase more from the gnome, but sadly, the costs were quite high for most of the temptations. Why, even the noble animal companion Ly'ianna was tempted to make a purchase, because one of the books in Finkdong's store was the world reknowned '1001 Erotic Ways to Use Peanut Butter'...

...after a relatively restful night, the party spent the next morning in various activities: Sonlar and Belros journeyed around the city, searching to find any houses of holy worship or any more information on the curse that supposedly was on the city, Ai'wendil conducted magical communications with his druidic circle to give them an update on his efforts, and the two barbarians Olga and Kyur'gan remained at the hotel, spending the entire morning coloring with crayons in some children's activity books they had found - two of the famous 'Barbarian Sam' educational series of coloring books designed to teach the proper ways to 'pillage and loot' like a pro! Anabus who happened to be keeping a watchful eye on the two troublemakers, realized that hidden in those coloring books was quite a bit of information about the ancient world, and possibly clues that might aid the party in their quest!

...when the party regathered at the Inn to discuss the information they had gathered, Belros and Sonlar explained that due to fears of the Theocracy rising to power again, there were laws forbidding any building specifically dedicated to worship being located within the 'city proper'...so any actual houses dedicated to divine beings would be found towards the outskirts of town...but there were a few that they had been able to gather information about...a holy house where Mystara was worshiped was well known, and located a few miles east of town...and a holy site, dedicated to Peylor, was rumored to be found a few hours ride by horse, at an oasis the NorthWest of the city.

... Ai'wendil relayed the news that he had gathered from his druidic circle: North Osatio had begun their active invasion into South Osatia, and had been engaging in numerous 'sneaky' attacks on the city of Makandah. He also had good information that their friend Hingi had been actively involved in the defense of Makandah, and had set up an 'animal and child refugee friendly' safe zone in the cities main park.

...the decision was made to pass on orders to Captain Crunch, of the 'Honey Badger', that upon repairs being completed, the ship was to sail on to the capital city of Greysguard, and to wait there for a month, then return to Makandah and place the ship under the command of "Lady Hingi, Queen of Honey Badgers, of the clan FukYerSideQuezt." Additional supplies and several extra horses were purchased, and the party departed the city to investigate the reported holy site dedicated to Peylor...

{Cue 4th commercial break}{Engage Audio Clip advertising the Barbarian Sam series of Educational Coloring Books: when your party meat shield is a bit too slow on the uptake, reach for one of the dozens of books in our series designed to not just amuse, but to educate even the lowest Intelligence and Wisdom dump stat having member of any adventuring party!}{return to audio commentary}

...as time waits for no adventurer, the party decided to depart that afternoon, and to spend the night at the Oasis where the reported holy site of Peylor was to be found. But upon arriving, the adventurers discovered that the large 30 foot tall statue at the oasis, carved to resemble one of the more common depictions of the deity known as Peylor, was corrupted by the evil taint of the evil god YURTRUS, Orcish deity of death, disease and strife! The noble Sonlar, at first staggered by the amount of evil he detected covering the statue, charged forward in rightious rage and punched a fist into the tainted stones...and all were amazed at his might, as a blinding flash of holy magic flashed brightly in the dark of night, and with a resounding crash, the entire statue toppled over and shattered into pieces!

...and that's where our last episode left off, dear viewers. What will be the repercushions of Sonlars actions? Will Peylor be proud of his efforts? Will the evil god Yurtrus seek retribution? Will Olga ever convince Anabus to let her give him one of her famous honey scented oils backrubs? Will Ly'ianna ever get enough peanut butter to satiate her wolfish appetite? Keep those radio dials tuned in, as we find out on the next episode of ...*drumroll*...Saturday Split Infinity RPG Weekly!

"Upon the king we will visit flame and ruin, 'til all around him desolation rings and all the demons in the outer dark look on amazed and recognize that vengeance is the business of men. Be wary, though - fine is the line between vengeance and revenge. Blur it and you become no better than him."~ Belros

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